Maintaining Weight An Uphill Battle In Climbing Everest

WARREN, VT. — At the summit of Mount Everest a climber's biggest problem may not be 100-mph winds, avalanches or mountain sickness but simple malnutrition.

A well-trained mountaineer who already is at optimum weight can lose 30 to 50 pounds during a three-month expedition to and from the world's tallest mountain.

That rapid and severe weight loss saps a climber's strength by reducing overall muscle mass and depleting energy reserves. It also makes climbers more prone to frostbite and freezing to death. The severe fatigue they encounter could diminish their capacity to make critical decisions.

Dr. Edward Hixson, physician for the U.S. Olympic Ski Team and a veteran of three successful Everest attempts, has been searching for ways to keep climbers from losing weight.

''Muscle is lost, vigor is decreased and weakness is produced,'' Hixson said. ''This person is starving. His muscle activity is at the price of burning up his own muscle tissue. He is burning his own body rather than fat.''

Extreme cold, physical activity and lack of oxygen at 28,000 feet require that climbers burn twice the calories required for even the most physically demanding athletic activities at sea level.

The average person burns about 2,000 calories a day. Professional athletes in training burn about 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day. High altitude mountaineers require about 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day.

In addition, the altitude reduces climbers' appetites. Exhausted at the end of a day's climb, they are reluctant to cook and eat. Because climbers didn't eat their food on the earliest Everest expeditions, later groups of climbers stopped bringing large amounts.

During his first expedition, Hixson required his group to carry enough food to supply adequate calories for the entire trip. They brought it, but did not eat all of it. That year climbers lost an average of 16 percent of their body weight, instead of the usual 25 percent.